I received West Virginia mineral lease offer from a company called Antero that was addressed for my husband who passed away earlier this year. I have no idea what I need to do or if I should even do anything. The lease offer is in his name. I emailed the Landman listed and he responded with ‘there are 182 mineral owners for this 10 acre mineral tract’ and that he would send me an affidavit of heirship. What does that even mean? I was advised that it may help to get a mineral land lawyer to assist?? My finances are limited and this feels like that would be costly to only find out my next steps if any. Would you have any suggestions or even just thoughts on if this would be worth looking into since my husband is deceased.
First, my condolences on the loss of your husband.
Whatever you do, DO NOT SIGN ANY PAPERWORK until you have someone you trust or an attorney review them. Gas companies are notorious for giving presenting paperwork that is horribly tilted in their favor.
Remember, landmen work for the gas company and will tell you almost anything to get your signature.
It sounds from the information you gave that your husband could be an heir to a forgotten relative’s
ownership of mineral rights (along with the other 182 owners).
Read all you can on this website; it contains a wealth of knowledge.
Take your time. There will be others along on this site to help.
GO MOUNTAINEERS !!
Thank you I’m actually a little confused on legal advice food to ask. Several people have said I need a mineral oil land attorney or something like that. I guess it’s someone who specializes in this type of thing? So I guess the first question is do I find one here in Virginia or need one in West Virginia? I have also been told that since my husband is deceased that it would first have to go to probate?
You definitely want a lawyer versed in West Virginia oil and gas law. I see the name Kyle Nutall thrown around quite frequently on this site and people seem to like him. My gas rights are located in Pennsylvania, so I use a Pennsylvania attorney. I have a strong feeling that you will need to do probate to get the minerals titled to you. The company that wants to lease your mineral rights will want to see you as an owner. There is a section for West Virginia mineral owners and you may want to check out thta site.
Thank you for the info. I found Kyle Nuttail’s company website and am considering contacting him. But can anyone on here tell me if all this is worth the trouble if the paper says that the GROSS Acres is 10.00000 with 182 mineral owners and our NET Acres is only 0.00145? From what I can see that is only 63.16 square ft of property. Sounds so small to me. What does that mean in the minerals arena. I just don’t want to spend too much time or money into something that will end up costing me more in the long run. Can’t really afford that at this point. So the more education I have before I call or contact a lawyer, the better, I think.
I wouldn’t necessarily suggest this for everybody, but based on your small amount of acreage, you can download an Affidavit of Heirship online, fill it out and have it recorded in the county where the minerals are located. Also, again, not advice for everybody, but based on the extremely small amount of acreage, you may wish to sell it to one of your husband’s relatives.
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